About shapeshifting

[Mianna]

Can a druid shapeshift into a werewolf (God I love Greater werewolf) in ID2? And what forms doews the ranger spell "Polymorph self" have? Flind,ogre,sword spider and mustard jelly like in BG2? That wouldn´t be too nice...I was thinking playing as a shapeshifter druidin BG2 but the start seemed waaaayyy too sticky...but now I have Cernd and shapeshift into a Greater werewolf! AC -13!!!! STR, CON and DEX over 20!!! Man amI pissed off now! How would a rogue druid work? I was about to go fora rogue ranger but...shapeshifting is soooo COOL!

[/-\lastor]

You really should avoid multiclassing spellcasters, in 3e multiclass caster become useless in the higher levels.

[fable]

Originally posted by /-\lastor
You really should avoid multiclassing spellcasters, in 3e multiclass caster become useless in the higher levels.

Not necessarily. I'd agree about not creating a druid/mage, or a cleric/mage; but a barbarian/mage or thief/mage might be a good idea. After all, the Magic Missile spell is a level 1 mage spell that never misses; and while a mage has a level 1 spell that erects a defense against it, other classes don't. Unless, of course, magic missiles no longer disrupt spellcasting.

[Kayless]

IMHO a level or two of barbarian does wonders for a druid (nothing like raging while in animal form). Generally speaking, when it comes to multi-classing spell casters I have concur with /-\lastor.

[Mianna]

I was thinking about 1 or 2 barbarian levels to make my druid a better fighter in melee with the scimitar. But also: It would also rock to have a druid that can turn invisible so if I take 1 or 2 levels rogue will this give my druid melee fighting bonuses PLUS stelth ability?

[fable]

Originally posted by Mianna
I was thinking about 1 or 2 barbarian levels to make my druid a better fighter in melee with the scimitar. But also: It would also rock to have a druid that can turn invisible so if I take 1 or 2 levels rogue will this give my druid melee fighting bonuses PLUS stelth ability?

Rogues acquire stealth very slowly, as a percentage skill rather than an instant success. I found in the beta that a level 2 rogue, for example, couldn't get hide most of the time.

Now, if you want to make your druid a better fighter, I'd suggest going the fighter route, not the barbarian. Fighters get plenty of useful feats. Barbarians get Rage, and until they gain some levels, can only use it once a day.

[Kayless]

Originally posted by Mianna
I was thinking about 1 or 2 barbarian levels to make my druid a better fighter in melee with the scimitar. But also: It would also rock to have a druid that can turn invisible so if I take 1 or 2 levels rogue will this give my druid melee fighting bonuses PLUS stelth ability?

Well, invisibly isn't what makes a rogue good, it's the Sneak Attack. And if IWD2 follows 3E rules correctly then you don't even have to be in stealth mode to get a Sneak Attack. Flanking your opponent (which isn't too hard with a party to distract foes) will let you Sneak Attack him. So yes, a few levels of rogue don't hurt (a level 1 rogue gets 1D6 Sneak Attack, which increases an additional 1D6 every two levels). But overall I'd just go with a Bbn1/DrdXX for pure min/maxing potential. For Sneak Attack to really be worth it you need it to be fairly high anyway.

Originally posted by fable
Rogues acquire stealth very slowly, as a percentage skill rather than an instant success. I found in the beta that a level 2 rogue, for example, couldn't get hide most of the time.

If BIS implements Sneak Attack anything like Bioware did in NWN, you won't ever need to use stealth. My NWN rogue almost never went invisible; he just flanked opponents while my barbarian merc went head on. Such a strategy would be even easier in IWD2, since you'll have a lot more troops to draw attention away from your rogue as he runs to the foe's exposed backs. Of course, if they don't implement Sneak Attack right (i.e. No-flanking Sneak Attacks), then rogues get royally shafted.

Originally posted by fable
Now, if you want to make your druid a better fighter, I'd suggest going the fighter route, not the barbarian. Fighters get plenty of useful feats. Barbarians get Rage, and until they gain some levels, can only use it once a day. [/b]

For min/maxing economy a level of barbarian gives you more bang for your buck than a fighter. A single level of fighter gives you one bonus feat, whereas a barbarian gives you Rage and Fast Movement. There are also Feats (if included in the game) that allow you to Rage longer and more often. That way you won't need to take more than a level or two of barbarian, which allows you to keep up on your druid levels. You're essentially a druid who can rage and run faster than normal, rather than a true multi-class (and should save your rage and shapeshifting for dire battles, supporting the party with spells on most encounters).